Concrete pile



Jan. 5, 1932. G. FINLAY ET AL CONCRETE PILE Filed May 29, 1929 2Sheets-Sheet lli llll Jan. 5, Yi932. L.. G. FINLAY ET AL CONCRETE PlLE 2Sheets-Sheet 2 File@ May 29, 1929 nu no 4. 2 s 1| .Mul Z 2 mnu. v A.

FIGS. ala.;

Patented Jan. 5, 1932 'unirse STATES PATENT @pHCE-l assesses LANC Gr.FINLAY, BRONXVLLE NEW YORK, AND FRANCIS W. JOHNSON", OF CLEVELAND, OHIO,ASSGNORS 'TO RAYMOND CONCRETE EILE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N.VY.,A'CORPORATONlOF JERSEY CONCRETE :PILE

Application filed May 29,

lhen concrete piles are cast in situ it is sometimes necessary to leavethe shell open for' inspection for a certain length of time after it isdriven. The usual shell is of very thin steel. lt is driven by means ofa core which is removed after the driving is completed, and the shell isimmediately filled with concrete. The thin shell is usually corrugatedand otherwise reinforced suliiciently to resist ordinary ground pressureor back pressure7 without collapsing or deforming. But if the backpressure is unusually severe, as for instance when unusual depths arereached, the thin shell is unable to resist deformation after the coreis removed, especially if the shell be required to keep the hole opensome little time for inspection. A

The object of this invention is to devise a pile shell and pileforming'method which will meet the above conditions.

Severe back pressure is often encountered when pilesare driven tounusual depths and the present invention is therefore particularlyadvantageous where eXtra long piles are necessary. Such piles cannot beeconomically built by usual methods because eXtra length cores are veryflexible, very expensive to make, and very expensive to transport, be-Vcause two railway cars are required. Also, very high leaders arenecessary on the pile driver to take thevhamlner,V core, and to pro videroom for shelling up.' Thereforethe whole process is expensive to carryout, andv as explained above, the results may,lafter all, beunsatisfactory on account of the inability of the shell to withstand theback pressure at its'low'er end. i

Long piles can also be made in composite form,with the lower section ofwood or conl crete, but some builders object to the joint between thesections, and at the same time they want a pile which can be inspectedclear to the bottom before lilling, and which'permits of beingreinforced. y

To meet allthe above conditions the present invention contemplates theuse of a comparatively heavy steel pipe shell for the lower part of thepile, and the ordinary Ytype of shell for the upper part thereof. Thepipe is provided with aconical driving shoe, which ieee. serial no.ysessie.

may be welded on, and is driven down in=ad' Vance of the core and uppershell. lnV driving toV rock the driving shoe may be omitted, the pipebeing driven open ended to rock and then the earth cleaned out of thepipe by co1npressed air or other means. rl`he lower pipe section isself-sustaining and needsno core, therefore we can use a core of usuallength for the upper nonself-sust'aining shell section only, andy stillobtain a long pile. It is desirable to haveleaders high enough to drive,in one operation, the lower pipe surmounted by the core and upper shell,but where this is not feasible the lower pipe end may vfirst be drivento ground level and then followed down by core and yupper shell. lPreferably a number of pipe endsr would first be driven andt-hen'followed down.

Usually the center bar of the core' extends only a sufficient Adistanceinto the ipipesection to guide it in direction,.but if vdesired the corebar may extend down to the shoe and thereby help to plow the path forthe pipe. lf this be done, a pipe of lessthickness may be used. -Thereareother advantages of our method, not mentioned above. For instance,the pipe is not as easily bent as a core. The core, being collapsible,is usually made of a center bar and Vthree plates or leaves, Yand istherefore not as able as a thick pipe to resist damage' by boulders.Also, the pipe,`being of comparatively thick material, is betterY ableto resist abrasion than 'is the ordinary thin shell. Furthermore,thepipe is absolutely water-tight, with the result that water and sand`are effectively lrept out. Further and other objects and advantages willbe apparent frornthe specification and claims, and fromthe accompanyingdrawings which show by way of illustration what is now considered thepreferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. l is a cross-section of the-lower pipe,

upper shell, and boot connecting the pipe and shell, with the core inplace.

2 is an enlarged'detail showing method of fitting the boot to the top ofthe pipe.Y

Fig. 8 shows the boot partly driven, with the'boot in place on theground. V Fig. l showsthe pipe partly driven and with the boot in placeto am the lower pipe and upper shell.

Fig. 5 shows the lower pipe, upper shell, and interconnecting boot, allbelow ground level. l'

In the drawings the pipe comprising the lower pile shell is designated10, the driving shoe 12, and a ring Welded around the top of the pipe,14. Resting on top of ring 14, near its outer edge, is the thin upperpile shell 16, whichvmay be any of various designs but which is shown asthe well known corrugated type with wires 18 in the corrugations.

Outside of the lower end of shell 16 is the sheet metal boot 20,provided at its lower end with an inturned bead 22 adapted to surroundpipe underneath ring 14. Eead 22 is formed around a steel ring 24 whichserves to reinforce the bead.

The boot is adapted to be packed in well known manner to keep water fromentering the joint between the upper and lower shell sections.

lllithin shell 16 is a collapsible driving core having leaves orsegments 26 and a center rod 28 which extends downwardly into pipe 10and has on its lower end a collar 30 adapted to fit the inner bore ofpipe 10 for keeping pipe and core in proper alignment. The center rod isalso provided with another collar 32 which rests on the upper end ofpipe 10 and preferably is of suflcientdiameter to extend partly overring 14 as well. If desired, rod 28 may be extended until collar 30rests in shoe 12, as indicated by dotted lines.

When the hammer is applied to the upper end of the core, collar 32forces pipe 10, collar 14, and boot 2O into the ground, and thecollapsible part of the core causes shell 16 to follow the pipedownwardly.

The above description covers the driving operation after lower pipe 16,upper shell 16, boot 2O and other parts have been assem-V bled as inFig'. 1. They may be assembled in that manner before pipe 10 is startedinto `the ground, and the wnole assembly driven together, or pipe 10 mayfirst be 'driven to ground level and the core and upper shell thenadded. If that be done, the details of procedure may be understood fromFigs. 3, 4 and 5. Boot 2O is placed upright on the surfacevof the groundat the spotwhere the pile is to enter the ground and pipe 1() is.driiven through boot 20 as in Fig. 3 until collar 14 approaches groundlevel, whereupon upper shell 16, and boot 20 are drawn up to theposition illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4 and the driving is resumed untilpipe 10, boot 20, and shell 16 are all below ground level the desireddistance, as in 5.

When the proper depth is reached, the core and its attachments areremoved, the interior of pipe and shell are inspected, reinforcementsare inserted if desired, and the mold is then filled with concrete 34,which, when it hardens, forms the monolithic core of the aile.

l It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to thespecific embodiment and construction herein described, but may be usedin other ways without departure from its spirit as defined by thefollowing claims.

`We claim- 1. A shell for a conc-rete pile comprising a lowersubstantially self-sustaining pipe section adapted for driving without acore, in combination with an upper shell non-sustaining section adaptedfor driving only with a core.

2. A shell for a concrete pile comprising a lower substantiallyself-sustaining pipe section adapted for driving without a core, incombination with an upper shell non-sustaining section adapted fordriving only with a core, and a boot engaging one of said sections andsurrounding a portion of said other section.

.3. A concrete pile comprising in combination, a lower substantiallyself-sustaining shell of comparatively thick material, an upper shell ofthin material, and a monolithic core of concrete filling the interior ofsaid shells.

4. In the method of forming a concrete pile, the steps of driving asubstantially selfsustaining lower shell, mounting 0n the upper endthereof a non-self-sustaining shell, and driving said combined shellsinto the ground to form a mold for a pile.

5. In the method of forming a concrete pile, the steps of driving asubstantially selfsustaining lower shell, mounted on the upper endthereof a non-self-sustaining shell, placing a boot about the jointbetween said sections, and driving said combined shells and boot intothe ground to form a mold for a pile.

6. In the method of forming a concrete pile, the steps of driving asubstantially selfsustaining lower shell, mounting on the upper endthereof a non-self-sustaining shell, driving said combined shells intothe ground Y to ferm a mold for a pile, and filling the mold withconcrete.

7. A shell for a concrete pile comprising in combination, a lowersubstantially self-sustaining section, an upper non-self-sustainingsection, and a boot engaging the upper end of said lower section andadapted to surround the lower portion of said upper section, for thepurpose set forth.

8. A shell for a concrete pile comprising in combination, a lowersubstantially selfsustaining section, an upper non-self-sustainingsection, a ring integral with the upper end of said lower section, and aboot engaging said ring and extending upwardly to surround the lower endof said upper section, substantially as set forth.

.9. Apparatus for forming a mold for a concrete pile, comprising incombination,

means Jfor driving a substantially self-sustaining lower shell section,and means for supporting a non-self-sustaining upper section inalignment with said lower section and adapting said sections for drivingtogether.

10. The invention set forth in claim 9 in which said aligning meanscomprises a rigid member adapted to pass through said upper shellsection and into said lower section.

11. The invention set forth in claim 9 Iin which said lower section isprovided at its lower end with a driving shoe, and in which said drivingmeans is effective on said shoe.

12. The invention set forth in claim 9 in which said lower section isprovided at its lower end with a driving shoe, and in which said drivingmeans is eifective on said shoe and on the upper end of said lowersection simultaneously.

13. The method of forming a concrete pile comprising driving a'substantially self-sustaining lower shell, mounting o-n the upper. endthereof a non-self-sustaining shell, placing a driving core within saidshells to hold said shells in alignment7 attaching means to said shellsto cover the oint, driving said combined shells into the ground andfilling the shells with concrete.

14. The method of driving a substantially self-sustaining lower shellsection andan upper non-self-sustaining shell section simulta- Y neouslywhich comprises aligning said sections, inserting a core therein,causing said core to positively drive the lower shell section and tofrictionally drive the upper shell section, connecting the shellstogether whereby the lower shell section serves to exert a tension forceon the upper shell section when said lower shell section is positivelydriven and filling said shells with concrete.

In testimony whereof we hereto ailix our signatures.

LANCE G. FINLAY. FRANCISW. JOHNSON.

